DEKALB COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH

MINUTES OF EXECUTIVE SESSION

SEPTEMBER 28, 2010

 

BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS PRESENT

Linda Liston, M.D. – President

Jesus Romero – Vice President

Kevin Buick, J.D. – Secretary

Dennis Diemer, D.V.M.

Tim Duez – D.D.S.

Karen Hagen, R.N., M.S.

David Phillips, M.D.

Scott Starkweather

Paul Stoddard

 

BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS ABSENT

Todd Latham

E. Sue Thompson, R.N., M.S.

 

STAFF PRESENT

Karen Grush, Administrator

Jane Lux, Assistant Administrator

Bette Chilton, Director of Personal Health Services

Brenda Courtney, Director of Fiscal Operations

Bob Drake, Director of Environmental Health

Ruth Patton, Director of Office Support

Deb Rolf, Director of Home Care

Marcy Zanellato, Director of Health Education

 

DISCUSSION

 

The purpose of the Executive Session is to discuss the biannual review of Executive Session minutes and personnel negotiations.

 

Biannual Review of Executive Session Minutes

 

Mr. Buick stated as requested at the last meeting, all Executive Minutes were reviewed  by him, Karen Grush and Jane Lux.  It is their recommendation that the minutes of the following Executive Sessions be released:

 

March 23, 2004                                             May 26, 2009

September 26, 2006                                    September 29, 2009

November 28, 2006 (A)                               March 30, 2010

March 27, 2007                                             May 25, 2010

September 25, 2007                                    July 27, 2010

September 23, 2008

 

Personnel/Negotiations

 

Mrs. Grush spoke about the $465,900 budget deficit facing the Health Department next year.  In August, we met with the union representatives and explained our deficit, and that we were open to anything to reduce it including salary freezes, furlough days, salary cuts, etc.  We told them to come back to us with their ideas.  The union members met, and reported back to us that they were not willing to open the contract at that point.  Therefore, the only option is to lay off employees.  In the bargaining agreement, there is a layoff clause, and management does have the right to decide if layoffs are necessary due to business reasons.  The contract spells out very clearly the order in which people are laid off.  First, all temporary and probationary employees are laid off within a Division.  Then, part-time employees within a Division are laid off, except for the Home Care Division.  Only temporary and probationary employees are laid off in Home Care; part-time employees are not laid off.  We select the Divisions and the classifications and then, once that is done, then it is done by seniority.

 

Mrs. Grush explained the Deficit Reduction Proposal handout with layoffs by classification within Divisions recommendations if we were to go with strictly a layoff proposal.  She explained there are five Divisions in the Health Department, and the impact of the proposal in each of the Divisions.  She then explained the rationale for the proposal and the principals that guided decisions.

 

The first principal was that we would try to sustain those programs that would not otherwise be provided in the community: Communicable Disease (CD), Women, Infants and Children (WIC), Family Planning and Family Case Management (FCM).  The second principal was based on a public health nurse model whereby we can best operationally sustain the programs.

 

Mrs. Grush reviewed the information on some of the graphs that were presented during open session, specifically related to grant funding.  She further discussed our three largest grants in the Personal Health Services Division:  Family Planning, Family Case Management and Women, Infants and Children (WIC), with regard to the revenue reductions and the amount that the Health Department contributes to each program, excluding administration costs.

 

Mrs. Grush described the history and utilization of The Health Department Well Child Program, in addition to the approximate $80,000 cost that the Health Department covers.  We do not get grant funding for the program.  It began in 1987 to meet an unmet need for preventive well child care for low income children in the County.  She proposed discontinuation of the program as of January 1, 2011, since there are currently other options for children to receive this care in the community.  We have met with Community Cares Clinic, and Mrs. Grush spoke with Kevin Poorten of KishHealth System, and Community Cares is willing to transition our well child clients who indicate they do not have a primary care physician, and they have the capacity to do so with the hiring of an additional practitioner during the summer.  The children will have a medical home where they can receive sick and well child care.

 

While Mrs. Grush proposed that we sustain the three large grant programs (WIC, FCM and Family Planning), she recommended discontinuation of the Sandwich satellite offices for WIC and Family Planning, effective January 1, 2011.  This would be a savings of about $14,000.  In addition to the cost of mileage, we calculate about a half-day a week of staff time is lost to travel time.

 

All in all, the proposal represents $432,900 savings in staff costs, $14,000 savings to discontinue the Sandwich satellites, and $20,000 savings in practitioners to discontinue Well Child Clinics.

 

Mrs. Grush then explained the handout with other options.  If the union is willing to forego or reduce a scheduled salary increase on January 1, 2011, management would also forego the raise, and we could potentially reduce the number of layoffs utilizing those savings.  In addition, the savings from taking furlough days is another savings option.

 

Mrs. Grush stated that these layoff and salary freeze proposals we will give to the union when we meet Friday, October 1^st.  At our November meeting, the Board of Health will vote on the proposal we have after conducting discussions and bargaining with the union.

 

Board members discussed the information and options presented, in addition to the difficult budget challenge.

 

Kevin Buick,J.D., Secretary

DeKalb County Board of Health

Executive Session Meeting

September 28, 2010